Captain cool turns red hot

Mahendra Singh Dhoni rewound the clock at the VCA Stadium. On Wednesday, one saw Dhoni the dasher of the yore — of 2005 or 2006. The only thing missing were his trademark long locks. Yes, Nagpur was treated to a Dhoni dhamaka.

Batting at No.5 — but coming in rather early on in the innings — Dhoni (124, 107 balls, 9x4, 3x6) paced out his knock to perfection. After a sluggish start, the Indian skipper went on a rampage and in the end, he was looking like a bull in a China shop.

He pillaged, plundered and bludgeoned the Australian bowlers into submission, smashing boundaries, frequently, effortlessly and indiscriminately. The effort fetched India their highest ever total — 354 for 7 — against the world champions and more significantly a series-levelling 99-run victory. It also fetched him his fifth ODI century.

Dhoni’s effort was not all about mindless hitting though. His innings gave a new dimension to the kinetics of running between the wickets. He was involved in the accumulation of 235 runs in two partnerships but not once was he in trouble while running between the wickets.

Even as his partners were diving to get back to the crease, Dhoni was timing the ball beautifully. He would make his ground a second faster than the ball. He would cover the 22 yards like a certain Usain Bolt would cover 100 metres. The only blemish in Dhoni’s knock was seen when he was hit on the helmet by a Ben Hilfenhaus bouncer off the first ball he faced. The Indian skipper looked rattled but in the end Ricky Ponting would have rued that it happened. Barring that episode, Dhoni looked like a man possessed.

Dhoni would have been a touch disappointed at the run out of Gautam Gambhir (76, 80 b, 6x4), who he joined hands with in a 119-run association for fourth wicket after an initial flourish from Virender Sehwag (40, 31b, 6x4, 1x6) and a cameo by comeback man Yuvraj Singh (23, 24b, 2x4, 1x6). The exit of Gambhir transformed the Indian skipper who went after the Australian bowlers with the ruthlessness of a Long John Silver. With Suresh Raina (62, 50b, 6x4, 1x6) too joining the party, it was a double trouble for Ponting.

The Australians had never conceded 354 bowling first. So they did not know how to chase it. The result was apparent once Praveen Kumar struck in his third over to remove Tim Paine. Praveen went on to take prized wicket of Ricky Ponting but the star bowler for India was Ravindra Jadeja who finished with three wickets.

Mike Hussey provided some resistance with a half century (53, 60b, 6x4) but that was never going to be enough. The seven-match series is now tied 1-1 but it may well have been different had Australia not decided to bowl first or play an injured Mitchell Johnson. Or, if Hilfenhaus had not hit Dhoni on his helmet.